Sunday, April 29, 2007

We kicked off the grilling season last weekend with these extremely conventional hamburgers. In truth, it could have happened a lot earlier, weather-wise, but the barbecue, which had wintered on the balcony, had mysteriously acquired a layer of greeny-gray mold, and it took some girding of loins, etc, before it could be tackled. (Please tell us how to avoid this fate next year, as it will then be my turn to clean it!)

Anyway, the point of this isn't the grilled patties (since I'm not the designated griller in this household), or even the rest of the fillings. (Look, it was the first hamburger of the season. Nasty processed cheddar-like substance is totally required. I think there's a law somewhere.)

The point is, I love these hamburger buns. It's slightly embarrassing, because it's basically just... white bread. Very unhealthy white bread. That goes stale in, like, twelve hours. Still. They taste right, and not like the plastic-textured ones you buy ready made.

Melt the butter in a pan, add the mil and heat until lukewarm. Crumble in the yeast and stir until dissolved. Add salt, sugar, and most of the flour and knead until you have a smooth dough. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough and roll it out to a thickness of about 1cm (scant ½inch). Cut out rounds about 10 cm in diameter and transfer to a cookie sheet. Cover and let rise about half an hour.

Whip the egg lightly and brush the buns with it. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 225°C (440°F) for about 10-12 minutes. Cool on racks.

Archive

A Note on Measurements

If I for some reason neglect to give out measurments in both metric and imperial units, Google is your friend and will ensure that you lose all ability to calculate conversions in your head. If you had any to begin with, that is, which I certainly didn't. Just type in [amount] [original units] in [desired unit] and hit search.
Furthermore, 1 dl = 100 ml.